False promises from power company

We all have experienced losing power at our homes at one time or another. Normally it isn't a big deal because we have become use to the power company fixing the problem pretty quickly. Sure there is the occasional big storm that may cause us to lose it for a longer period but again we feel confident that the power company will get us up and running again.

Recently a family member had his power lines and poles knocked down because a tree limb snapped off in his neighbors yard. Our family member is an elderly gentlemen that lives about 100 feet off the road and shares a driveway with his neighbor in a residential area in Fayetteville.

We called the power company feeling pretty confident that they would be able to come out and get him up and running again but we were realistic that it might take a day or two because of the damage. Another factor that made us feel good about the situation was that this gentlemen had purchased the additional insurance the power company has been promoting for the past year, I'm sure you all have seen it. It is suppose to cover problems on the outside of your house such as meters, lines etc.

The power company came out that evening and decided that the lines and poles being down was a safety concern so they disconnected power to his house. They also informed us that they, the power company, was not responsible for fixing the poles or the lines running to his house. We thought oh, they don't know he has the additional insurance, so we told them and they had the same reply, still not covered.

Now we start to get a little concerned and we figured we would just call the power company again and discuss it. Next day we contact the power company and we are told again that the poles and wires is not their responsibility and they must be fixed by a third party, We again reminded them about the additional insurance just to be told again that it would not apply because the power company was not responsible and also that the insurance only covers "normal wear and tear". Their reply being this situation was caused by "An Act of God".

So we now know we have a fight on our hands but the first priority was to get power restored regardless of who was responsible because temps had been in the 90's all week. The third party electrician showed up on day 3 to explain what we need to do to get power restored. We were responsible to make all the contacts and the task of trying to coordinate who, what, when and where.

First we needed to get the area checked and marked before any digging could be done for the poles. Next was finding someone to purchase poles from and have them installed. After the poles are installed we need to have some tree limbs trimmed and then finally the electrician can come in to run the electrical lines. After all of this we would still not have power until the power company comes out and reconnects the power at the pole.

So to update, it has been two weeks and the poles are suppose to go in today. We are still looking at probably another week at least to get his power back on. Imagine 3 weeks without power, I could understand if it was a major outage for 100's of people but this is one man.

I find it very disappointing that the power company does not care enough about a long time customer in a time of need to help them out. They did not offer to help at all with any of the third party contractors to get this done sooner. It's as if they just turned their back on him and stood behind their comments that they were not responsible and it was "An Act of God".

Just remember power company, everything is "An Act of God", the sun rising in the morning, the air you breath and yes that light bulb that turns on when you flip the switch at your own house.

Making false promises to your customer is just bad business. A little compassion would go a long way.

Darious Wenger, Fayetteville

Does this make America great?

Billions of dollars are sent to the Washington swamp each year with much of it going to 17 US Intel agencies. They all concluded in a report to Trump that Russia meddled in our 2016 election. At the G20 summit Trump had a secret 1 hour meeting with Putin. When he returns back to America he tells the American people he believes in Putin and disbelieves US Intel. Trump also attacks or attempts to fire any investigative leader that mentions the Russia matter. Is this patriotic? Does this make America great?

Voters should take a look at the Republican moral compass or values. Republican leader Mitch McConnell and most Republicans voted 5 times for themselves a raise with their wage at above $60 an hour, but voted 15 times against raising minimum wage. Republicans voted against giving poor people a subsidy for health insurance while receiving a subsidy for their own health insurance. They are greedy, self-serving and unpatriotic.

Trump lacks the leadership quality of self-discipline because of his draft dodger and/or nonmilitary status. He uses the hate quality to lead opposition against his foes like demeaning other world leaders. He is not draining the swamp. He and his family have further enriched he and his family interest. His actions in creating Trump university was described as fraud by all including the courts. It is a perfect picture of his moral compass. His budget proposes a $1.7 trillion cut in food stamps, children’s health insurance, Social Security Disability insurance and other social safety net programs.

Do Trump supporters really believe that his budget will make America great again. Trump constantly being above the law also will not make America great again.